Railway exam cheating case: supervisor’s complicity suspected

Candidates who appeared for the railway recruitment exam on Sunday have alleged that Rajkumar Patil, 25, who was arrested for cheating in the examination, might have received help from examination authorities to execute his plan.

Candidates who appeared for the railway recruitment exam on Sunday have alleged that Rajkumar Patil, 25, who was arrested for cheating in the examination, might have received help from examination authorities to execute his plan.

Priya Patil, one of the candidates said, “We yelled at the supervisor, Sanjay Prasad, when he gave the accused 10 extra minutes to finish his paper. Earlier, he allowed Patil to enter the hall 30 minutes late. Prasad panicked after we shouted at him and snatched the answer sheets from Patil. But while snatching the sheets, three extra sheets, which had answers written on them fell down. One of us standing close to Patil saw it.”

She also questioned Prasad’s decision to allow Patil to write the exam even after his late appearance. “As per the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) rules, late entry is forbidden and candidates are not allowed to visit the washroom. But Patil was permitted to go to the washroom from where he returned after a long time,” she said.

Vijay Maurya, another candidate, said it was not possible for Patil to have cheated without the involvement of the supervisor. “The supervisor must be hand-in-glove with the accused.”

Sunday’s incident has worried authorities because the exam, conducted to select assistant stationmasters was held because last year’s examination was postponed after question papers were leaked in Solapur and Nagpur.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had arrested senior RRB officials in this case.

RRB chairman BK Dadabhoy said that the decision on the re-examination would be taken soon.